United presents Yorkwood offer

Volume 2, Issue 6
IN THIS ISSUE:
United presents Yorkwood offer
Board changes grad site
Committee sees annexation as best option; offers to move junior high to Yorkwood HS facility
p. 2
Academic teams take center
stage in march toward state p. 3
Busy week for UHS FFA
p. 4
First UHS play next week
p. 5
HS calendar & menu
p. 6
Spring sports schedules set p. 7
Hoop dreams end early
p. 8
STORM ALERTS
Holiday schedule
There will be no school on
Friday, March 3, as United
teachers will be participating in
the Knox-Warren-Henderson
Counties teachers’ institute at
Galesburg High School.
There will also be no school on
Monday, March 6, in observance
of Pulaski Day.
United’s spring break is set for
Thursday, April 13--Monday,
April 17. Classes will resume on
Tuesday, April 18.
School improvement day
Classes will be dismissed
at 11:30 a.m. on Monday,
March 20, as teachers and
administrators will be involved
in a school improvement
program in the afternoon.
ACT/PSAE testing dates
April testing dates have
been set for United High
School juniors, who will take
the ACT and the Prairie State
Achievement Exam on Tuesday,
April 26, and Thursday, April 27.
On both days, students will be
transported to the Community
Center in Alexis for testing. This
is due to strict testing restrictions
required for the ACT exam.
The State of Illinois mandates
the ACT be administered to
all juniors, so there is no cost
to students to take this college
admissions examination.
Elementary tests also set
United Elementary students
will also be testing in the coming
weeks. Illinois Scholastic
Aptitude Tests (ISAT) will be
administered March 13-22
at both the north and south
campuses for grades 3-8.
Specific test dates will be set
soon, with a number of days set
aside at the end of the sequence
for makeup exams for students
who are absent during one or
more of the regular testing dates.
By Tony Kozelichki, Publisher
The discovery committee
charged with discussing reorganization with the Yorkwood
School District presented the
potential partner with a concrete
proposal at a meeting held February 15 in Alexis.
The proposal, submitted by
United Board of Education
president Rick Elliott, calls for
United to annex the Yorkwood
district, with the reorganization scheduled to begin with the
2007-2008 school year.
Elliott says the annexation
offer was made because it would
result in a simpler reorganization process than consolidation,
which the Yorkwood committee
a week earlier said it preferred.
Sue Bertlesen, a member of
Yorkwood’s Board of Education
and their discovery committee,
said she was pleased with the
proposal and that residents of
both districts need to move forward with the proposed plan.
“I believe we can work
together for the benefit of our
students,” said Bertlesen.
Elliott says the annexation
offer commits the United Board
of Education to the proposal and
that state financial incentives
are the same with annexation or
consolidation.
Additionally, the proposed
tax rate for a combined district
would be $4.24 per $100 equalized assessed valuation, the
same as is now paid by United
residents.
A reorganization study
prepared by Dr. Harold Ford,
William Schehl, and Tom Steele
indicated consolidation would
result in a 30-cent increase in
the tax rate, with 20-cents going toward the education fund
and 10-cents to the operations
and maintenance fund. That
study also indicated annexation
would be a simpler process than
consolidation, requiring fewer
decisions to be made in order to
meet the proposed time frame.
According to the report, a
combined United/Yorkwood district would realize $814,000 in
state incentive money, which the
consultants said could best be
used to increase fund balances,
especially if the reorganization
is by annexation.
The same consultants also
prepared a study for a Yorkwood
reorganization with the Monmouth-Roseville district. It,
too, showed annexation as a less
costly and easier process than
consolidation.
The United proposal calls for
the new district to retain the
United name, along with the Red
Storm team designation.
Key to the United proposal is
an offer to house the junior high
school in the current Yorkwood
High School building, an issue
Yorkwood committe members
have indicated as vital to their
community.
By housing the junior high at
Yorkwood, students from the former Alexis and Warren districts,
along with Yorkwood, would
have their own self-contained
building possibly for the first
time ever.
Having the junior high in
its own building would allow
those students to have their
own identity, bigger and better
classrooms, and separate ag and
athletic facilities.
The proposal calls for the
student/teacher ratio of 18 to 1 at
the junior high building, which
would house grades 6-8.
Yorkwood would maintain
its pre-K through fifth grade
elementary building, as would
United at its North Campus.
At the high school, the proposal indicates an initial student
population of 280-300, which
Elliott called conducive for
competition between students
but small enough for all students
to compete.
The consultant’s recommendations called for consideration of
adding space at the United High
School to better house agriculture and industrial arts classes.
The United proposal indicated
the former Alexis and Warren
districts, along with Yorkwood,
would have roughly the same
number of voters in each area.
Because annexation is recommended over consolidation,
the current United Board of
Education would remain in place
throughout the planning and
implementation of the reorganization.
The annexation option does
not allow for Yorkwood representation on the school board.
Future board elections would be
determined on an at-large basis,
as is the case at United.
Elliott said Yorkwood would
be welcomed “with open arms
in the United community” and
they would join United as equal
partners.
Are these destined to be relics?
By Curt Pratt, editor
Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has introduced a proposal that
would ban all junk food and soda
in Illinois schools.
Citing research that shows
healthier students have higher
attendance rates, better behavior,
and superior test scores, the Governor said, “Removing junk food
and soda from Illinois schools is
one more way we can help our
children stay healthy.”
The sale of junk food to
elementary school children is
subject to similar restrictions in
at least ten other states, which
prohibit sales until after the lunch
period at the earliest. Other states
have gone even further. Hawaii
bans junk food in all schools all
day. Florida bans the sale of junk
food in elementary schools all
day, and in secondary schools
until after lunch. The Governor’s
proposal builds on the work done
in these other states.
Existing rules already prohibit
the sale of junk food in elementary schools during breakfast
and lunch, but if students snack
too much between mealtimes,
they may not have appetites
for healthy foods at lunch. The
proposed rules would change the
rules to prohibit junk food during
the entire school day in elementary and middle schools.
In addition to prohibiting junk
food, the proposed rule will
also change the definition of
junk food to make it easier to
understand. The new definition
will move away from a focus on
Governor Blagojevich says he’s content with banning
candy and soda machines in elementary and junior
high/middle school buildings throughout the state.
categories of food, like cookies
or candy bars, and focus directly
on the food’s nutritional content.
The average child drinks twice
as much soda as milk, according to the Center for Science in
the Public Interest. One-quarter
of everything adolescents eat is
considered junk food according
to a study from Project Lean. In
addition, children nationwide
are consuming an average 150 to
200 more calories per day than
they did just ten years ago.
Nationally, 15 percent of children ages 5-19 are overweight,
triple that of 20 years ago. The
increased weight is causing
increases in serious medical conditions like Type II diabetes and
is setting the stage for coronary
heart disease, stroke or cancer.
A study in Arkansas showed that
Type II diabetes – a condition
once found almost exclusively in
adults – is up 800 percent among
children in the past decade.
UHS principal Amy Schmitz
has mixed emotions about the
proposal. “Our machines bring in
revenue, which allows clubs to
provide more opportunities. With
teen obesity rates, it’s tough not
to agree with the proposal. In the
long term, are kids really gaining
anything besides weight?”
The revenue from the soda machines benefit the student council
while the revenue from the candy
machine benefits the music
boosters. “We make anywhere
from $75-100 dollars in a given
week off the pop machine,” said
United student council advisor
Brooke Anderson.
One alternative would be a
beverage machine that would
only dispenses juice and water.
“Water and juice would be
a great improvement,” said
Schmitz. “The kids are going to
buy whatever you offer. In this
situation, they would be forced
to make better decisions.”
ICTM heads to state finals again; WYSE getting close (page 3)
STORM TRACKER
1905 100th Street
Monmouth, IL 61462
309-734-9411
The Storm Tracker is published
monthly by the journalism students of
United High School, is printed through
the facilities of The Register-Mail, and
is distributed to residents of CUSD
#304. The material published does not
necessarily reflect the viewpoint of the
administration of United School District
#304, nor the policy of The RegisterMail.
While every attempt is made to
determine the validity of advertising
contained herein, the advertising in the
Storm Tracker is not to be construed as
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responsibility of liability resulting from
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Parties interested in advertising in
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Letters to the editor must be mailed to
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only edits letters in cases of timeliness
and obscenity and does not guarantee
publication of all letters.
STORM TRACKER
Curt Pratt, editor-in-chief
Reporters
Ryan Armstrong, Joe Battenburg,
Sean Duncan, Aaron Gavin,
Chayla Grupy, Katie Widener
Mr. Tony Kozelichki, advisor
“Some material courtesy
of American Society of
Newspaper Editors/KRT
Campus High School
Newspaper Service.”
United CUSD #304
contact numbers
Superintendent’s Office
482-3344
FAX 482-3236
United High School
734-9411
FAX 734-6090
United Elementary School
482-3332
FAX 482-3236
Jane Smith LMT
Licensed Massage Therapist
Maple City Chiropractic Massage Hours
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10 am - 7 pm MWF
Monmouth
3 pm - 7 pm Th
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8 am - Noon Sat
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Galesburg IL
309-343-9055
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158 N. Broad
Galesburg 342-6149
35mm Processing On-Site
2nd Set Free
Graduation moved to United football field
By Katie Widener
The United Board of Education
met at the United Fieldhouse for
its regular monthly meeting on
Thursday, February 9.
For a second time, the board
reversed an earlier decision
regarding the location of the May
2006 graduation ceremony.
At the December board meeting, a decision was made to hold
graduation at the South Campus
gymnasium, with any overflow
being seated in the all-purpose
room where a video hookup
would allow attendees to view
the ceremony.
A dispute over seating capacity
ensued, and at the January board
meeting, a reversal led to the
scheduling of graduation at the
Fieldhouse, which has a larger
seating capacity than the south
campus gym.
At the February meeting,
parents and student voiced their
concerns about the changing of
the graduation site.
Senior Sara Wenzel stated,
“I would like to graduate at the
South Campus because that is
where I go to high school. We
don’t go to school at the Fieldhouse.”
The board then changed the
graduation site to the South
Campus football field, which
was originally slated to hold the
ceremony a year ago In case of
rain, graduation will be at the
Fieldhouse, as it was last May
when a thunderstorm washed out
plans to hold ceremonies at the
football field.
In other business, the school
board approved a proposal to
lease an activity bus for the
2006-2007 school year. The bus
will seat will seat up to 15 passengers and will be used to trans-
Host families sought for
foreign exchange student
By Joe Battenburg
Next school year, United
High School will have a new addition to its student body.
The Monmouth Rotary Club
will be hosting a foreign exchange student who will attend
United. So far, the student is
still being decided so details are
indefinite but will be known in
the next couple of months.
The Rotary has been hosting a foreign exchange student
program for area schools and the
2006-2007 school year marks
United’s first slot in the rotation.
The Rotary is also looking for
three host families who will each
have a turn at having the foreign
exchange student stay with them
during part of the school year.
These families will be able
to share an American experience and help introduce the new
student to our culture. Not only
will the host families be showing how life is in America, but
the will also receive a learning
experience by becoming familiar
with the student’s culture.
Host families also develop a
bond with the foreign exchange
student and children in the family become friends. There have
been times when students have
gone to visit a foreign exchange
students in their native country
and share their cultural experiences even more.
The Monmouth Rotary Club
hopes to have the host families
set in motion within the next
month or two. If any families are
interesting in becoming a host
family they can contact Bill or
Caroline Ault at 734-2963. They
may also contact the high school
office or Mrs. Shaver at the high
school by calling 734-9411.
port athletes and participants in
events such as golf, speech, and
FFA, which would not require
the seating capacity or cost of
running a full-sized school bus.
The board also adopted a new
program called “The Wellness Policy.” This program is
intended to teach cleanliness and
help students be stress free.
The board also heard a report
from elementary principal Tom
Gilliland who said state is asking
that each student participate in
150 minutes in physical education class per week.
Mr. Gilliland said, “There is
not enough time in the day to do
what the state requires. Kids may
also not be able to fullfill this
need, due to other class schedules.”
The school board agreed to hire
a kindergarden aide for the South
Campus. Jennifer Holmes will be
the aide. She is from Oneida and
will be graduating from Western
Illinois University. She will be
paid $8.00 an hour.
The board again discussed
the issue of reorganization with
Yorkwood, which is still being
discussed (see page 1).
The next regularly scheduled
meeting of the United Board of
Education will be held Thursday,
March 9, at the board room at the
North Campus.
Phys Ed still a necessary component
By Amy Schmitz, Principal
February is a month that not
only recognizes Valentine’s Day
but also another matter of the
heart, the prevention of heart
disease.
During this month, agencies
want to increase public awareness of the steps that can be
taken to reduce the risk of heart
disease. Throughout the years,
research has proven that heart
disease is directly linked to obesity and lifestyle habits such as
unhealthy eating and inactivity.
The most alarming research
shows our nation’s obesity rate
for young people has soared.
In fact, the Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention reports
the rate of overweight children
ages 6-11 has increased from 7
percent in 1980 to 16 percent
in 2002. In addition, statistics
reveal the obesity rate in young
people ages 12-19 went from 5
percent to 16 percent.
However, schools and communities have taken a strong stand
in the fight against obesity.
First, our students are fortunate
to be in Illinois, which is the only
remaining state with mandatory
physical education requirements.
Furthermore, physical education programs are now focusing
on lifetime activities that promote an active lifestyle instead of
traditional team sports.
In addition, the majority of
communities have recreation
centers that provide year-round
programs for youth involvement
in physical activity.
Finally, families are choosing
to reinforce positive lifestyle
habits by spending quality time
together doing activities that
require physical activity.
From this, our youth can incorporate physical activity as a daily
part of their lives and reduce
their chances for obesity and
heart disease.
Frozen bus fails to chill United math team
ICTM squad routs
regional competition
By Aaron Gavin
The United ICTM math team
recently competed in the regional
competition at Western Illinois
University. Despite arriving just
in time to compete in the competition, they were able to bring
home first place overall with
many individual winners.
Bus trouble due to the frigid
temperature was the cause of the
late arrival. After the bus stalled
several times driving from Alexis
to United, a Cavanaugh Bus had
to be called and ended up leaving
40 minutes later than scheduled.
Luckily, the cold weather didn’t
slow down students competing in
the competition who were able to
take home first place in all four
subjects which included Algebra
I, Geometry, Algebra II and Precalculus.
The Algebra I team swept
their division taking all three top
places. Leading the way was
Patrick Olin followed by Preston
Powell and Jessy Battenburg.
The Geometry team did even
better, taking the top five spots
in the division. Taylor Willett,
Matt Olin, and Larissa Prentice
took first, second, and third, respectively. Peter Elliot and Ben
Battenburg finished close behind
at fourth and fifth.
The Algebra II team also did
well with Jay Grant placing first
with Matt Grose a close second.
Not to be overlooked are Nick
Hanson and Jake Murdock who
tied for fourth.
Members of the ICTM squad in the front row (from left
to right): Michael Long, Jake Murdock, Lauren Powell,
Larissa Prentice, Taylor Willet, Chris Olson, Sara Armstrong, Nick Hanson, Brandon Lee, and Ben Battenburg. In the back row: Aaron Gavin, Aaron Barr, Matt
Grose, Jay Grant, Andy Yung, Curt Pratt, Bre Christian,
Chelsea Macek, Matt Olin, Peter Elliott, and Pat Gavin.
Not pictured: Jessy Battenburg, Preston Powell, and
Tara Van Fleet.
Scholastic Bowl team preps for LTC
By Katie Widener
In scholastic bowl, questions
are asked about science, history,
literature and many other topics,
with team scores tallied at each
dual or triangular meet.
The 2006 scholastic bowl team
is coached by Miss Fayla Bodenhammer.
The team is made up of four
seniors and three juniors. The
seniors are Nick Snow, Chelsea
Macek, Curt Pratt,and Amber
Liniger. The three juniors are
Nick Hanson, Jake Murdock and
Michaela Eagen.
However, due to the music
department’s trip to Circa 21,
the team lost a lot of its players
heading into their match against
Westmer and West Central on
Febrauary 23.
At press time, the team’s record
stood at 9-7 as they prepare for
their Lincoln trail Confrence
meet on March 2.
Taking home first place for
United in Pre-calculus was Curt
Pratt followed by Andy Yung
who placed third. Chelsea
Macek and Aaron Gavin also
placed near the top in a fourth
place tie.
Other events held during the
competition included a Frosh/
Soph and a Junior/Senior two
person competition and an eight
person competition.
The F/S team of Willett and
Prentice placed third, while the
J/S team of Yung and Gavin
took first overall.
The F/S eight person team took
home the top prize while the
J/S right person team finished
second behind Pittsfield.
Also included in the competition was a calculator event in
which United once again took
home first.
Rounding off the day was an
oral competition in which Curt
Pratt and Tara VanFleet teamed
for third place.
Other schools in the competition included Pittsfield, Carthage,
West Central, and Beardstown.
With the first place finish, the
team will move on to compete at
the state finals on April 22 at the
University of Illinois in Champaign.
The team will go into the
state competition ranked fourth
overall.
WYSE one step from state finals
United took 8th in
state one year ago
By Aaron Gavin
United High School students
recently competed in the regional
WYSE competition held at Carl
Sandburg College on February 9.
The team competed in Division
300, which included Alwood,
Bushnell-Prairie City, ROWVA,
and Williamsfield.
Students are allowed to take a
test in two of the seven available subject areas, which include
math, chemistry, physics, English, biology, engineering graphics, and computer science.
Medals are awarded to the top
three in each category, with those
top three coming from all divisions competing, which include
larger schools such as Galesburg
and United Township.
Sophomore Taylor Willett,
competing in her first WYSE
tournament, was the sole United
student to place in the top three.
She placed first overall in biology by getting 38 out of the possible 50 correct. She also placed
second in English with a score 78
out of 100.
As a team United placed first
in Division 300 with ROWVA
taking second and Bushnell-Prairie City third. The contest also
declares an overall team champion by combining Division 300
and Division 700, which includes
Knoxville, Farmington, Monmouth-Roseville, Rockridge, and
Sherrard.
Overall, United finished second
behind Monmouth-Roseville for
the second consecutive year.
An overall individual champion
is also awarded, with Willett fin-
ishing a close second and given
honorable mention.
By finishing first in Division
300, United will move on to the
sectional competition to be held
at Knox College on .
If the team is able to place in
the top two in its division at the
sectional, they will then move on
to the state competition in April
at the University of Illinois.
Members of the WYSE team who hope to improve upon
last year’s eighth place finish are (from left to right),
front row: Michael Long, Jay Grant, Larissa Prentice,
Taylor Willet, Nick Hanson, Amber Liniger, and Ben
Battenburg. In the back row: Aaron Gavin, Aaron Barr,
Matt Grose, Andy Yung, Curt Pratt, Chelsea Macek,
Nick Snow, and Joe Battenburg.
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North Henderson, IL 61466
Phone (309) 464-0015
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$5 Off thru March
Call M-Th-Sat
482-3549
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482-6600
National FFA Week gets enthusiastic response
By Sean Duncan
February 20-24 marked
National FFA Week, and a full
week’s worth of activities helped
bring a relatively slow month to
an exciting and enjoyable close.
Each of the five days saw a
different activity held during the
later afternoon activity period.
On Monday, a gastronomic relay race was held which included
chugging soda through a calving
nipple, a burger eating contest,
and eating Ramen noodles and
pudding with no utensils.
Monday was also Green-Hand
Day, a traditional marking of first
year FFA members who have
their hands stained green.
Tuesday’s activity saw the high
school students dismissed to the
back of the building for a polar
dive into a tub of cold water.
Fortunately, temperatures in the
40’s kept the chill to a minimum.
However, as seen in the accompanying photo below, some took
more than one try to even get
into the tub.
On Wednesday, students were
again sent outside to watch the
Jello Slide, in which jello and
other lubricants were put on a
tarp and students made headlong
dives across the yard.
Thursday’s event was Kick
‘Em Off the Cow which was held
in the gymnasium. In this event,
students compete against one
another to force their opponent to
fall off the “cow.”
On Friday, students tested their
quickness of hands and feet in
the slippery pig contest, often
known as the greased pig chase.
Medals were given to the class
winners in each of the week’s
events.
The United FFA is also working on the Saturday, March 4,
three on three basketball tournament to be held at the United
Fieldhouse in Alexis.
Games will start at 8:00 that
morning and run throughout the
day.
Registration may be made in
advance, or on the day of the
tournament. Cost is $36 per
Judge’s score costs UHS speech pair
By Aaron Gavin
A fourth place finish at regionals usually doesn’t bode well
for advancement to the sectional
finals, let alone the state finals.
For United senior Maddie Eagen
and sophomore Caiti Tucker, the
heartbreak came at the sectional
final.
The pair barely qualified for
the sectional speech tournament
in dramatic duet acting with their
showing at regionals. However,
by tweaking their performance in
practice, the girls found themselves with the top preliminary
score at sectional and advanced
to the finals, where the top three
places would garner a berth in
the state finals.
But putting on their best
performance of the year wasn’t
enough in the eyes of one single
judge.
Despite having two judges rate
them the best of six in the final
round, one judge rated the girls
last, leaving them in fourth place
and one point away from qualifying for the state finals weekend.
Nonetheless, a conference
championship and a slot in the
sectional finals was a huge accomplishment for the duo, both
in their first year of competitive
speech.
team if paid by Wednesday,
March 1. After that, the fee goes
up to $44 per four man team.
At no time may a player
participate in a division younger
than his grade, but a younger
player may enter with a team in
an older division.
Teams should check in at the
registration desk thirty minutes
prior to game time.
The schedule for the day finds
seventh and eighth grade boys
starting at 8:00 a.m. Fifth and
sixth grade boys will begin play
at 10:00 a.m., with third and
fourth grade boys beginning at
12:30 p.m.
The girls’ tourneys find the
third, fourth, fifth and sixth
graders starting at 2:00 p.m. and
the seventh and eighth graders
beginning play at 3:00 p.m.
A concession stand will be
available and T-shirts may be
purchased for $10.
Money raised will go to the
Beth Aden Ag Scholarship Fund.
Dutton moves on in spelling bee
Last month, the Storm Tracker
featured a photo of United’s
top spellers who qualified for
the county spelling bee. Well,
there’s more good news to report
this month.
United seventh grader Nate
Dutton took top honors in the
Henderson-Warren County spell-
ing bee held February 1.
He will now move on to district competition on March 31 at
the studios of WEEK-TV in East
Peoria.
Eighth grader Jenna Fox was
the first runner-up.
The spelling bee is sponsored
by the Peoria Journal Star.
UJHS mathletes shine
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Mrs. Brooke Anderson’s junior high MATHCOUNTS
team placed third in a recent regional competition at
Betterndorf. Members of the team are (from left to
right) Casey Schuermann, Duncan Nall, Zack Steele,
Jenna Fox and Anton Kozelichki. Nall finished eighth
overall while Steele placed second indiviudally and will
head to state competition this month in Chicago.
Member FDIC
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Alpha 629-4361 ~ Aledo 582-3150 ~ Alexis 482-5511
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Monday
30
March Elementary Menu
6
NO SCHOOL
Pulaski Day
13
Crispitos
Lettuce & Tomato
Apricots Cookie
20
NO LUNCH
27
Chicken Strips
Broccoli & Cheese
Applesauce Cookie
3/6
3/13
3/20
3/27
NO SCHOOL
Pancake on a Stick
NO BREAKFAST
PopTart & Bacon
Tuesday
31
7
Chicken & Noodles
Mashed Potatoes
Mixed Veggies Peaches
14
Hot Dog
Tator Tots Baked Beans
Pineapple Slice
21
Pizza
Corn
Applesauce & Cookie
28
Cheeseburger
Chips & Salsa
Mixed Veggies Pear Half
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
Cereal & Toast
Cereal & Yogurt
Cereal & Toast
Cereal & Toast
Wednesday
1
Tuna Casserole
Peas Apricots
Cherry Freeze
8
Pork BBQ Sandwich
French Fries
Tropical Fruit Cookie
15
Chicken Tetrazini
Mixed Vegetables
Peach Half Teddy Graham
22
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Pasta Salad
Peas & Carrots Apricots
29
Hot Dog w/ Coney Sauce
Tator Triangle
Tropical Fruit
3/1 Bagel w/cream cheese
3/8 Long John & Bacon
3/15 Cinnamon Tastry
3/22 Long John & Yogurt
3/29 Donut & Yogurt
Thursday
2
Cheeseburger
Chips & Salsa
Corn Mixed Fruit
Friday
3
NO SCHOOL
Teachers Institute
9
Chili
Carrots & Dips
Pear Half
16
Hamburger
Chips & Salsa
Corn Tropical Fruit
23
Chipped Beef Gravy
Mashed Potatoes Green Beans
Peaches
30
Spaghetti & Meat Sauce
Lettuce Salad
Apricots
3/2 Cereal & Yogurt
3/9 Cereal & Mini Muffin
3/16 Cereal & Toast
3/23 Cereal & Mini Muffin
3/30 Cereal & Mini Muffin
10
Fun Fish
Au Gartin Potatoes
Peas Scotcheroo
17
Breaded Chicken Sandwich
Creen Beans
Cinnmon Apples Cookie
24
Tomato Soup Grilled Cheese
Mixed Fruit
Goldfish Crackers
31
Tenderloin
French Fries
Pineapple Cookie
3/3 NO SCHOOL
3/10 Breakfast Pizza
3/17 Donut & Bacon
3/24 French Toast Sticks
3/31 Pancake Bites & Sausage
Thespians prepare for first United school play
By Joe Battenburg
This week, United High School
will be presenting Lean Hill
Adams’ Archipelago.
The plot revolves around a
group of prisoners performing
a play at a Siberian work camp
during the gulag days of the
Stalin regime.
The interesting point is that
there is a play being done inside
of a play. The actors also have to
portray the acting skills of each
of their characters, which make
the play more captivating.
United English teacher Mr.
Ryan McCoy is directing the
play.
When asked about why he was
helping put together the play, he
responded by telling how he and
his wife have both been involved
in theater. He started working
in theater when he was in high
school.
McCoy chose Archipelago
because it’s very flexible to work
with. It can be done with many
or few actors. He also enjoyed
the blend of drama and satire
included in the script.
Another reason he chose this
particular play would be that he
believes there are many parallels
throughout the production that
the audience can learn from.
One defining aspect of this
play is that there is something
for everyone in it. The 14 actors
have been rehearsing for the play
since January.
When asked her thoughts on
the play, senior Chelsea Macek
said, “It’s been a lot of hard
work, but it’s going to pay off in
the end with a great production.”
United students involved in the
production are Levi Cox, Tyson
Cox, Maddie Eagen, Michaela
Eagen, Nicole Hennefent, Teri
Jones, Amber Liniger, Chelsea
Macek, Alex Nall, Molly Rose,
Ashley Sherfey, Nick Snow, Laura Stahl, Heather Trout, Rocki
Valencia, Sara Wenzel, Jerry
Wildbahn, and Taylor Willett.
The play will be performed
Friday, March 3, and Saturday,
March 4, at 7:30 p.m. in the
All Purpose Room at the South
Campus.
Admission is $3 for adults and
$2 for students.
D. Jerry Yocum
Bruce Foote Salesman
Home Phone: 309-653-2564
Cellular: 309-337-3121
UNITED HIGH SCHOOL
2005/06 YEARBOOKS
NOW ON SALE
$35.00 per copy
Call Mr. Zink at 734-9411to reserve
March Jr/Sr Lunch Menu
Tuesday
31
Wednesday
1
Chicken Nuggets
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Corn & Pears & Brownie
Thursday
2
Macaroni & Cheese
Little Smokies
Green Beans & Applesauce
Friday
3
NO SCHOOL
Teacher’s Institute
6
NO SCHOOL
Pulaski Day
7
Chili Dog
French Fries Baked Beans
Peaches & Cookie
8
Tomato or Vegetable Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Fruit Snacks & Cookie
9
Cavatini w/Garlic Bread
Green Beans
Mixed Fruit
10
Italian Chicken Sandwich
Chips Corn
Fruit Crisp Ice Cream Cup
13
Quesidillas Chips & Cheese
Spanish Rice Corn
Manadarin Oranges
14
Cheeseburger & Fries
Baked Beans
Pineapple
15
Salisbury Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Pears
16
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce
Garlic Bread/Layered Salad
Peaches
17
Chili or Chicken Noodle Soup
Peanut Butter Sandwich
Fruit Snacks Cookie
20
NO LUNCH
School Improvement Day
21
Chef Rite on Bun
French Fries
Corn
Peaches Rice Krispie Treat
22
Chicken Fried Steak
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Fruit Crisp
23
Goulash & Cheesy Bread Stix
Mixed Vegetables
Mixed Fruit
24
Bar-B-Que on Bun
French Fries Baked Beans
Pear Chocolate Cake
27
Haystacks
Spanish Rice Mixed Veggies
Mixed Fruit
28
Chicken Patty on Bun
Chips Green Beans
Peaches Rice Krispie Treat
29
Corn Dog Tri-Tators
Peas
Pineapple Cookie
30
Chicken & Noodles
Mashed Potatoes & Gravy
Green Beans Cinnamon Apple
31
Fiestada
Chips Peas
Mandarin Oranges
30
3/6
3/13
3/20
3/27
Monday
NO SCHOOL
Baked Pretzel
NO BREAKFAST
Egg & Cheese Wrap
3/7
3/14
3/21
3/28
French Toast Stix
Donuts
Cereals
Long Johns
3/1
3/8
3/15
3/22
3/29
Egg & Cheese Wrap
Long Johns
Pancake on a Stick
Muffins
Cereal
3//2
3/9
3/16
3/23
3/30
Donuts
Cereal
Long Johns
Cinnamon Rolls
Pancake on a Stick
3/3 NO SCHOOL
3/10 Cinnamon Roll
3/17 French Toast Stix
3/24 Pop Tarts
3/31 Cinnamon Roll
March 2006 Calendar
29
Sunday
27
Monday
28
Tuesday
Wednesday
1
JHG BB @ Galva
Math ACT Workshop
5
6
NO SCHOOL
19
13
JHGBB LTC Trny
ISAT Testing Gr 3-8
WYSE Sect @ Knox
14
ISAT Testing
20
11:30 Dismissal
21
27
JH Girls Track Starts
Softball vs Nauvoo
Saturday
4
IHSA Solo/Ensemble
School Play 7:30pm
School Play 7:30pm
11
9
10
JHG BB @ LTC Trny
Science ACT Workshop JH Solo/Ensemble
Soph Career Fauir
Science ACT Workshop
Science ACT Workshop
15
JHG BB @ LTC Trny
16
ISAT Testing
ISAT Testing
Freshman Orientation
22
Art Institute Field Trip
23
Baseball vs. ROWVA
Boys/Girls Track @
Monmouth Frostbite
26
Math ACT Workshop
Friday
3
NO SCHOOL
7
8
Science ACT Workshop JHG BB @ Westmer
JHG BB vs Stark County Winter Sports Awards
6:30 pm
12
Thursday
2
LTC Scholastic Bowl
@ Stark County
17
JHG BB @ LTC Trny
18
24
25
Softball vs. Avon/B-PC
Softball vs Orion
28
Baseball vs Abingdon
29
30
Baseball vs Alw/Camb
31
1
Baseball @ Wethersfield
Softball @ Monmouth
Softball @ Abingdon
Boys/Girls Track @
Sherrard
Girls Track @ Cambridge
Spring sports schedules announced
UNITED BASEBALL
UNITED SOFTBALL
Mar 23 vs ROWVA
Mar 28 vs Abingdon
Mar 29 vs Alwood/Cambridge
Mar 31 @ Wethersfield/Annawan
Apr 3 vs Galesburg (V-DH)
Apr 5 @ Aledo
Apr 6 vs Rockridge
Apr 10 @ Bushnell/P-C (V)
Apr 19 @ ROWVA (JV-DH)
Apr 19 @ Stark County (V)
Apr 20 vs West Central
Apr 24 @ North Fulton (V)
Apr 26 vs Farmington
Apr 27 @ Brimfield-Elmwood V
Apr 28 @ Canton (V)
May 1 vs Princeville
May 3 @ Alwood/Cambridge
May 5 vs Galva (V)
May 6 vs Orion
May 6 @ Rockridge (JV-DH)
May 9 vs Knoxville
May 11 vs Williamsfield (V)
May 11 @ Monmouth (JV)
May 12 vs LaHarpe (V)
May 15 Regionals
Mar 23 vs Orion
Mar 24 vs Avon/B-PC
Mar 27 vs Nauvoo (V)
Mar 29 @ Monmouth-Roseville
Mar 31 @ Abingdon
Apr 1 vs Brimfield-Elmwood V
Apr 3 @ Alwood (V)
Apr 7 @ ROWVA
Apr 11 vs South Fulton (V)
Apr 13 vs Wethersfield/Annawan
Apr 17 vs Princeville (V)
Apr 19 @ Stark County (V)
Apr 21 @ West Central
Apr 25 vs ROWVA
Apr 26 @ Galva (V)
Apr 27 @ Avon/B-PC
May 1 vs Abingdon
May 3 @ North Fulton (V)
May 4 @ Knoxville
May 8 vs Aledo
May 11 vs Williamsfield (V)
May 15 Regionals
All games unless designated are
varsity and junior varsity
Additional games may be added
to this schedule
All games unless designated (V)
are varsity and junior varsity.
Sneak peak at prom
By Chayla Grupy
Who’s putting together
the prom of 2006? The prom
committee includes 15 junior
girls: Cassie Bainter, Rachel
Damos, Nicole Ester, Teilson
Hennenfent, Christine Huber,
Katie Lair, Laney Morgan, Jenny
Nicol, Ashley Oberman, Brittany
Perry, Lauren Powell, Jenny
Richardson, Ashley Sherfey,
Betsy Simpson, and Kayla
Winkler.
The junior class will present
“Pair-a-Dice” on May 6, 2006,
at the Knights of Columbus in
Galesburg.
The promenade will be held
at 6:00 p.m., followed by
coronation at 6:30 p.m. So far,
the site of the promenade has not
been decided.
Pictures will be by Portraits By
Buff and the music will be by
Jerry Nelson from Metro Burg
Promotions.
The ticket this year will cost
$15-20, and will be in the form
of a poker chip key chain. The
favors all attendees will receive
will different by gender, as
always. The females will be
getting picture frames and the
males will be receiving a deck of
United Red Storm playing cards.
Decisions still to be made are
decorations, lighting, and the
menu.
The king and queen will be
voted on the last week of April
and the sophomore attendants
will be chosen in March. The
attendants will have their dinner
paid and will be given $25
toward the cost of their dress or
tuxedo. The rest of the decisions
will be a surprise.
Enjoy!
Schedules for United spring
sports have been announced by
athletic director Dan Renwick.
All home baseball games are
played at the North Campus field
in Alexis.
Home softball games will be
played at the diamond in Cameron.
Practice for baseball and softball teams began Monday, February 27, with the baseball team
using the United Fieldhouse and
the softball team working out at
the South Campus gymnasium
Track practice for the boys’
team begins on Tuesday, March
7, while the girls started practice on February 27 at the South
Campus.
The schedules listed are still
tentative as Mr. Renwick hopes
to add more contest dates.
UNITED BOYS’ TRACK
UNITED GIRLS’ TRACK
Mar 20 @ Monmouth Frostbite
Mar 29 @ Sherrard Quad
Mar 20 @ Monmouth Frostbite
Mar 29 @ Sherrard Quad
Mar 31 @ Cambrdige Invite
Apr 3 @ Sherrard (F/S)
Apr 4 @ Galva Relays
Apr 19 @ Wethersfield (F/S)
Apr 21 @ Rockridge Invite
Apr 24 Red Storm Relays
Apr 26 @ Aledo Relays
Apr 28 @ Wethersfield Relays
May 1 LTC F/S @ Wethersfield
May 5 LTC V @ Wethersfield
May 16 @ B/PC/Avon Invite
May 19 IHSA Sectional
May 23 PJ Star Invitational
May 26-27 IHSA State Finals
A number of dual meets may also
be added to this schedule
Apr 4 @ ROWVA Quad
Apr 5 @ Galva Relays
Apr 13 @ Rockridge Lady Invite
Apr 21 @ Rockridge Invite
Apr 27 Red Storm Relays
May 1 LTC F/S @ Wethersfield
May 2 @ B-PC/Avon Invite
May 5 LTC V @ Wethersfield
May 12 IHSA Sectional
May 19-20 IHSA State Finals
May 23 PJ Star Invitational
A number of dual meets may also
be added to this schedule
Musicians tune up for March 4 contests
By Chayla Grupy
Solo & Ensemble contests
are scheduled for March 4 and
will be held at Farmington High
School.
The choir and band students
involved in solo and ensemble
events started preparing for competition in January. They have to
practice the rhythms, measures,
beats, and the words to the songs
have to be memorized. They
perform in front of judges, who
critique them, which helps the
students understand what they
need to work on.
“This competition will better
prepare them for other performances throughout their lives.
This is a good experience for
them and it gives them a chance
to meet people from other
schools as well,” said United
choir director Amelia Rakestraw.
There are a lot of foreign
language songs this year, including Italian and French, which
requires a lot of work for the
students.
Contestants are scored on a
range from one to four, one being
the best and four the worst.
Some of the students who are
performing at the Solo & Ensemble contest will also perform
their pieces at United’s spring
concert.
Hoops seasons come to an end
Boys’ and girls’ teams
ousted in regionals;
Girls exceed expectations while Fox injury
proves costly for boys
By Ryan Armstrong
The good news is that Alex Fox
will be fine. The bad news was
that his injury may have been the
difference in an opening game
regional loss to Yorkwood.
With just a little more than five
minutes remaining in the game,
Fox was fouled by Yorkwood’s
Justin McDonald and crashed the
floor motionless.
Fox lay face down on the floor
for nearly 20 minutes before he
was stabilized and transported to
St. Mary Medical Center where
he was treated and released later
that night.
Fox reportedly did not lose
feeling in his limbs, but missed
school the next day due to overall
stiffness in his neck and back.
X-Rays of those areas showed no
major structural damage.
Without Fox, the team’s leading scorer, the Red Storm saw
their season come to an end,
the result of a 48-45 loss in the
opening game of the Knoxville
Regional.
The loss left the Storm with a
final record of 8-18, which was
especially disappointing after the
team broke for Christmas with a
near .500 record.
Fox’s injury was compounded
by poor free throw shooting late
against Yorkwood, a team the
Storm had defeated twice this
season, albeit by late second
shots in both games.
Despite the injury and subsequent neck and back pain, Fox
was able to advance to the finals
of the three-point competition
by hitting eight of his last nine
shots during the second round
held this past Wednesday. First
round qualifiers MacArthur
Wheeler and Luke Watson did
not advance.
Wheeler, however, is expected
to be a strong contender when the
Class-A slam dunk championship
is decided the weekend of the
state finals in March.
The loss of Fox won’t be the
only hurdle the boys will have to
overcome as they head into summer ball and look ahead to next
season.
Also leaving the fold will be
fellow seniors Aaron Gavin,
another high scoring threat, and
Wheeler, who was a dominant
force in a number of games.
Michael Long, who was counted on for leadership as the team’s
floor general, also graduates as
does co-captain Sean Bertlesen
and reserves Jason Bishop and
Andy Yung.
Before the season ended,
however, the seniors got a great
sendoff with a 76-43 rout of the
Cambridge Vikings before a huge
senior night home crowd.
Gavin’s 28 points paced the
MacArthur Wheeler practices for the slam dunk competition by attempting to dunk two balls at once.
United attack that night, but it
was a breakaway by Fox that
brought the crowd to its feet
when he lobbed the ball to
Wheeler who slammed it home.
All conference selections will
be selected in March and will
be announced, along with team
awards, in the next issue of the
Storm Tracker.
For United’s girls’ basketball
team, the 10-18 record doesn’t
tell the whole story.
The team started the season
with ten straight losses, but a
strong second half left them in
sixth place in the Lincoln Trail
Conference.
Once the team got on track, it
went 10-8 during the second half
ot the season.
Coach Dennis Mann credits
the improvement to the team’s
United’s Tara Van Fleet brings the ball up the court on
Senior night against West Central. The girls lost but
rebounded to beat Yorkwood in the M-R Regional.
fast-break execution and overall
team defense.
“If our shooting would have
improved, we could have easily
won three or four more games.”
Unlike the boys, the girls’ beat
Yorkwood in the first round of
regionals, but lost to Wethersfield
in the next round. An early lead
in that game against Wethersfield
quickly evaporated by the end of
the first quarter.
When all was said and done,
the Geese flew away with a 30point win.
One area that Mann and fans
alike appreciated throughout the
season was the girls’ overall effort and aggressiveness. Even in
lopsided defeats, it was difficult
to see any difference in the girls’
effort and hustle.
In fact, Mann said other
coaches and even referees gave
compliments to his team for their
effort.
Mann, a former college coach
in his first year running the
United program, says his team
in 2006-2007 will have an uphill
climb.
“We lose our quickness, our
depth, and our leadership,” said
Mann when expressing his outlook following the loss of several
seniors to graduation.
Graduating starters include
Neileigh Brown, Emily Elliott,
Marci Patterson and Tara Van
Fleet, who was named to the Lincoln Trail Conference’s second
team.
With the girls’ hustling style
of play, a number of juniors saw
extensive playing time which
should benefit the team this summer and into the next school year.
Sean Bertelsen (50) and Alex Fox defend against Yorkwood.
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